York Beach business owners 'losing sleep’ facing summer of uncertainty

Deborah McDermott dmcdermott@seacoastonline.com @dmcdermoSMG

Wednesday

May 6, 2020 at 2:00 AM

YORK BEACH – The specter of COVID-19 makes this year’s summer season enough of a question mark, say York Beach business owners, but it is exacerbated by what they see as a lack of guidance as well as unreasonable orders from the state of Maine, confusion among potential visitors, unhelpful social media posts telling out-of-state people to stay home and concern about their own future.

"The writing has been on the wall for a while that this summer was going to be different," said Ed Bullock, who owns The Little Bull gift shop in York Beach. "In the beginning, we accepted that we’ll lose May and part of June, but it seems like all the time it gets less and less and less. So we are constantly trying to reevaluate how this is going to look. We just don’t know."

It’s a situation that weighs on the mind of Town Manager Steve Burns as well. While the selectmen revamped their executive order to extend until June 30 last week, the opening of the town’s beaches was not included in that order. Burns said he alone has that authority. He said he hopes to have them open for good by June 1, but only if there is a coordinated opening of all beaches in New Hampshire and southern Maine.

"The last thing we want is for the state of New Hampshire to keep their beaches closed while our beaches are open," he said. He said the town managers from Seabrook, New Hampshire to Old Orchard Beach have had several Zoom video conference meetings recently, working to present a united front to Govs. Janet Mills and Chris Sununu. "This is a big deal, and we want to do this together."

Meanwhile, Beach business owners are trying to navigate the particulars of Gov. Mills’ plans for reopening the economy in Maine, which she announced last week. The plan calls for a phased approach, with a number of businesses able to open last Friday; restaurants and retail stores, among others, by June 1; and hotels, other lodging and bars, among others, by July 1. As of June 1, the state will allow gatherings of up to 50 people instead of the 10-person restriction currently in place.

Overarching it all is a requirement throughout the summer that all out-of-state visitors entering Maine have to quarantine for 14 days. Maine Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Heather Johnson said last week that that mandate is subject to change if the science allows it.

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"The goal is to create a more targeted, more finely refined and defined approach to how we can target individuals coming into the state," said Dr. Nirav Shah of the Maine Center for Disease Control. "What that looks like depends on what the scientific data tells us. No one has really come up with an answer to these questions, not right now, not really ever. What we know today could change two weeks from now."

But that uncertainty is of little use to him, said Joe Lipton, who owns the ViewPoint Hotel at the Nubble as well as the Stones Throw restaurant and motel on Long Beach Avenue.

"I have 22 weddings set for this season, booked a year in advance. It’s a huge portion of my business. Now, what do I do? They say we can have a gathering of 50 or less. Does that mean people can have 50 guests or does that number include caterers? Can there be out-of-towners? How am I supposed to know whether they’ve quarantined or not before they come?" said Lipton. He said he’s asked these and other questions of state officials, but has not received an answer yet.

If he can’t open his hotel and motel until July 1, he said, how is he going to recoup losses? And what is the logic behind that decision? "I agree that a huge influx of people is not going to be a good thing. If you want social distancing, it’s going to be difficult. If you want to stop out-of-state people from coming in, do that, but do it all the way around. Don’t pinpoint one business."

Lipton has also been asking questions about the guidelines to open the Stones Throw Restaurant as well. Retailers and restaurateurs can open on June 1, but so far the state has provided no guidelines that they will have to follow in order to be within state mandates. And there is no clear answer as to when they might be forthcoming, with a spokesperson in Johnson’s department indicating the state will "strive to provide an adequate amount of time for preparation."

But business owners say they are planners, and having guidance so uncertain this late in the spring is concerning.

"I am losing sleep trying to figure out, what does the shop look like?" said Jeremy Prescott of Kettle Boys Popcorn Company in York Beach. "Do I put stanchions in? Do I put plexiglass up? Do I allow credit cards? These next 30 days are critical. I have a mortgage and I pay it with the money I’ve earned every year. When it gets to April and May, the cash is getting pretty thin and I’m looking forward to opening my doors."

Troy Williams, of Williams Realty Partners, has approached the Mills administration about forming a task force of businesses that will be most affected by the summer season. He said there needs to be a common-sense path forward for both business and public health – and input from tourist-based businesses is critically needed as the state plots out the summer ahead.

"At the end of the day, we’re not expecting it to be a profitable summer, but we just want people to minimize the losses so they are able to open in a responsible manner and live to fight another day," said Williams, who himself has 16 rental property in the beach area. "We need to survive this in order to thrive in the future."

Steve Dunne, of Dunne’s Ice Cream on the Nubble, said while he will likely survive this summer, many businesses may not. Like many people interviewed, he said he is mindful of the pandemic that is causing this to begin with.

"I don’t know what the answer is. It’s going to be a challenge to make it through the summer. They keep saying the quarantine is subject to change if things get better. But at that point, people may not want to come up," Dunne said.

Town Manager Burns says he understands why summer businesses are restless and unhappy.

"There’s a fatigue now about COVID-19. We’ve reached a disillusionment stage. For a lot of business people, this is life or death. It’s serious stuff, and there are no good choices," Burns said. "This is not fun for anyone."

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